Once Bitten
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: Experimental Fic. Willow is an ancient warrior of the light, with a dark past concerning the Watchers Council.


Title : Once Bitten  
Author : Tariq ( formerly Aeris Jade Orion )  
Rating : R  
Pairing : WR/TM  
Timeline : Season Six

Summary : Willow is an ancient warrior of  
the light. One who is very aware of the truth  
about the Watchers Council.

Authors note: It's unbeta'd. At the moment I  
have no beta reader for this genre. So drop me  
a line if you're interested.

Second, due to health issues, and taking care  
of my disabled mom, I haven't been able to  
write much. But over the last several years  
I've managed to slowly write on a number  
of stories.

What I've decided to do is go ahead and  
publish what I've managed to put together.  
The stories are unfinished, and sometimes,  
the last chapter I worked on is unfinished.  
Plus, there maybe multiple chapters, each one a  
different version. Just warning everyone.

So I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer : Not mine. All characters belong  
to Joss Whedon.

00000  
Prologue  
00000

Willow flipped the innocent postcard over in  
her hands. The image of the Vatican standing  
out against a bright sun lit sky. She turned  
it back over, fingers tracing the red postmark.

An alchemy symbol, Uroboros. The snake in a  
circle biting it's own tail. The never ending  
cycle. Infinity. The beginning and the end.

Green eyes glanced to the far left. To the bold,  
cursive script. Written with a foutain pen. It  
was very short. Too short for anyone other than  
her to get it.

At the bottom was initials. Dr. V.H.

She rescanned the message again.

" We're here. Call when it's time. "

' Oh Goddess... No... '

00000  
1897  
00000

" Must I? " Willow questioned in exasperation.

It really hadn't been her year. It wasn't that she  
disliked her life. While she freely admitted she  
hated the current attitudes towards women, and boy,  
did she ever, it didn't touch her very often.

Most of her time was spent deep in the bowels of  
the Vatican. Or on a deadly mission, hunting  
monsters. So she could forgive the ignorant fools  
who chained down the females who should rightfully  
rule the lands. At least for now.

No, the problem was the Head of the Templars was  
currently off dealing with Dracula, and Willow was  
left with his mess. A complicated mess by the name  
of Randolf Moore.

A gypsy, were hybrid, with a mad scientist  
complex. The man had no compuncture with cutting  
into himself, or injecting himself with untried  
chemicals. Mix in magic and she had a pounding  
migraine.

" I do apologize, Dr. Powers. " Young Richards  
blushed. " I did try to explain to Dr. Van Helsing,  
but you are aware of how he gets were Dracula is  
concerned. "

" I know, Mr. Richards. " She brushed off. It wasn't  
her assisstants fault.

Aberaham had a grudge against Dracula. The vampire  
had killed the Head's only son. No, not just killed,  
held captured and tortured to death.

" However, the information we have on Randolf is  
lacking. We have no idea what lythropy he has  
been infected with, or what experiments he has  
performed on himself. " Willow rubbed at her  
pounding forehead.

" I understand, but Dr. Van Helsing's orders are  
clear. " Richards shifted nervously. " There's  
also been talk from upstairs. The Pope is  
concerned about the recent attacks. "

Willow sighed heavily, nodding once in  
understanding.

The Vatican was a strict and scary power. They  
allowed a lot. Women, witches, gypsys, even  
good demons, into the Templars. Just as long as  
they under went certain rituals and were marked  
by the Pope himself.

They were the Pope's army against the darkness.  
The thing they kept the world blind about. Hundreds  
of normals, and magicals working together to make  
the world safe.

She stood up to get to work. Moore wouldn't kill  
himself, and it take her hours, if not days to  
hunt him.

Black magic rained down on them. Power shaking  
the underground base. Dust came loose, sprinkling  
everything. Books fell from her bookcases, and  
the single painting she had came crashing to the  
floor.

It felt like an earthquake under her feet. Building  
up quickily. Richards lost his balance immediately,  
taking out a chair. Her office door tore away and  
came down on him.

Willow's magic anchored her to the floor. She  
snatched up a set of single blade, dual axe's.  
The back half had a round hammer like protrusion,  
so she could even use them for nonlethal battle.

She attached the sheath to her belt and raced for  
the stairs to the upper levels. Relief filled her  
at the sight of the artifact room and library  
under lock down.

No one would be getting in them now.

" Dr. Powers! " Rosemary cried out. " It's the  
Council! They're attacking us! They have the  
Slayer with them! "

Willow stumbled at the surprising words. Yeah,  
okay the Council had always hated the Templars.  
The Watchers, and the Slayer had orders to  
attack on sight. But to outright attack the  
Vatican...?

She sprinted up the stairs. Level after level,  
and into the depths of hell.

' Goddess, why...? '

11111  
Chapter One  
11111

Willow smiled in relief from her bedroom window.  
Xander and Buffy were in the backyard talking.  
It would be a lot of work, but they would be  
okay.

Though, she somehow didn't see Xander letting  
Buffy forget the Spike thing anytime soon.

Now, she just had to make a decision about Tara.  
She loved her more than anyone she'd ever had a  
relationship with. Unfortunately, she had a  
number of secrets which had lead to their many  
fights, and eventually, their break-up.

If she decided Tara was truly worth it, she  
would have to come clean. Spilling secrets she  
wasn't sure should ever be revealed. Even to  
the woman she loved.

She gasped in pain, taking a single step back,  
and bonelessly folding to the floor. Blood  
splattered the walls and curtains. Pooling  
around her body.

The sun shifted through cracked glass, revealing  
three bullet holes. Red dripping from the glass  
in glistening dew drops.

The red head blinked through the strange dream.  
A shaking hand clumsily tracing her forehead and  
pausing at the spiderwebbed location of her left  
temple, aiming toward the back of her head.

' Oh... '

She withdrew her hand to her chest, wincing as it  
landed immediatly on another wound. Almost right  
over her heart. Just missing it by centimeters,  
if even that much.

Willow continued over to the right and wished  
she hadn't. Over her lung was the last bullet  
hole. Explaining why she was having trouble  
breathing.

She'd been in worse situations, of course. Hell,  
she'd be right as rain in a little while. She  
just needed to...

She glanced around the white abyss in surprise.  
Then down at her self, to see her wounds still  
present and bleeding rather badly.

" Will? " " Buffy appeared. " Oh god, you're  
hurt! "

" So are you. " Willow responded.

Buffy had been shot, too. A direct shot to the  
heart. The slayer's grey sweatshirt was heavy  
with blood, and gaining more every second. Too  
much, too fast.

Buffy was dying.

Willow approached her best friend, hugging the  
slender blonde tightly. It was funny how fate  
worked, but sometimes it was for the best.

She channeled her healing into the blonde. First,  
the bullet had to come out. Then, the body had to  
be healed. The heart, the blood vessels, the veins,  
and more blood had to be produced.

The witch felt her body weaken rapidly. Her  
breathing worsen until her right lung collapsed.  
Thinking became harder, and harder.

" Will! " Buffy supported her full wait. " What's  
happening? What did you do? "

" Tell... Tara... I... love..." She faded back  
to her body.

She opened her eyes to her bedroom gasping and  
fighting for each breath. Blood bubbled from her  
mouth, foaming, and running out.

" Buffy! Willow! Is anyone here? Tara! "

Footsteps approached and something hit the  
carpet close by. There was a small gasp, then  
running fading down the stairs.

' Dawn. How much more is she going to suffer? '  
She wondered through the haze of her muddled mind.

More running was heard, this time coming back.  
Then she blurrily saw Dawn kneeling beside her.  
The teen dropped the cordless on the floor, along  
with an armful of towels.

She moaned as the teen shifted her body and packed  
folded towels under her. Dawn placed three thick  
towels against each wound making it extremely  
uncomfortably to lay there.

Worse, the teen did the same to the front. Tightly  
holding the towels against the bullet holes. Her  
long slender hands quickly becoming coated with  
the slick liquid.

" I'm sorry! " Dawn apologized with a flinch.

Willow smiled weakly at the earnest teen. Managing  
to bring her hands up to lay on the teens.

" Dawnie... " She rasped. " ...my will is in my  
book of shadows. "

" Don't talk like that! You'll be fine! The  
ambulance is on the way! "

Willow closed her eyes slowly. She was just so  
tired. So bloody tired. Too many fights. Too  
many deaths.

Just too much.

11111  
1897  
11111

Willow flipped off the ceiling, spinning twice,  
and landed in the middle of the six collapsing  
bodies of potential slayers. She pushed off the  
balls of her feet, darting in and out of the  
magical addicts from the Council. Her axes  
slashing throats, severing arteries, and taking  
off heads.

She grimly saw her comrades dying around her. The  
hundreds of mercenary demons and were's the  
Council had hired easily overtaking them. Hell, she  
was having an equally hard time.

Her magic abilities the only reason she was still  
fighting.

' But where's the thrice damned Slayer? '

She leaped down the staircase to the next level.  
Dashing through the chaos, her axes and magic  
lashing out at anyone in her way.

A piercing scream of death rattled the war inside  
the halls of the Templars. Richards cracking voice  
making the hair on her neck stand up.

Willow speed toward her office. She knew she was  
too late to save him from his scream. But she'd  
be damned if she didn't avenge his death.

She entered the room which had once been her haven,  
and stared in the black eyes of the sixteen year  
old Slayer. Blood ran from her black hair. The  
dress with more layers than an onion was covered  
in skin and pieces of Richards insides.

Richards. Seventeen. Just barely a man. Engaged  
to be married to a his childhood sweetheart.

The red head's eyes flickered to his body and  
back to the Slayer. She'd gutted him. From his  
pelvic bone up to his chin, from shoulder to  
shoulder. Gouged both eyes out, tore his tongue  
out.

Twitching her wrists, all the accumalated blood  
slid off them, leaving them clean. The red bladed  
axes glistened in the shadowed office. The quarter  
moon shaped blades raised up thirsting for their  
first Slayer kill.

The Slayer cocked her head with a grim twist of  
her lips. Not a smile, or smirk. Just a little  
pull of satisfaction. Of pleasure. Demonic,  
manic, slightly peaceful.

A dagger hung in the dark haired woman's right  
hand. A plain weapon. Nothing special about it.  
Just a dagger. Something to wield and forget.

Willow felt the carefully oiled black leather  
covering brass handles of her axes. It was so  
soft from years of use. Braids of dyed red  
leather gave her hands better grips, preventing  
slipping.

She forced her breathing to slow through the  
sweat dripping down her face. Into her mouth,  
the salty liquid stinging her split lip, and  
cut up tongue.

Then the Slayer was on her.

The fight was a blur of rage. Both women angrier  
than the other. The Slayer at her slavery to the  
Council, and Willow at what the Slayer allowed  
the Council to mold her into.

Blades lashed out in lightening fast strikes.  
Fists and feet trying to pound the other into  
the grave. Strangely silent other than the raspy  
gasps for breath, and grunts of pain.

Willow, however, noticed one thing. In all the  
dirty fighting. All the attempts to slash each  
others throats. The need to make blood run.

The Slayer was strangely slow.

Not a lot. Not even enough to be noticeable by  
most people. It was just by a second. One second  
was more than enough for the right person to kill  
a seasoned Slayer.

' She's suicidal. ' Without a hint of sympathy.

She twisted around the dagger as the Slayer  
overextended. Her arms crossed over and she  
uncrossed them, taking the warriors head with  
her axes.

Willow ran from her office. She sent her magic  
out into the building, searching the living  
potentials for the next Slayer.

' There! '

Jack rabbiting over a werewolf, she buried both  
of her axes in the back of the new Slayer before  
she could take a single step. The teen feel dead  
at her feet and she wrenched her weapons free.

The witch spun around, killing the werewolf, and  
ran for the next potential.

' I have to save the Templars. I have too. '

In the distance, she saw Rosemary fall to a  
werebear. The gypsy being eaten alive. Claws  
and teeth coming up for a moment with glee,  
to dig back into the moving, screaming body.

' Goddess, please, help us. ' Willow prayed as  
silent tears fell while she killed another Slayer.  
' Somebody, please, help us. '

22222  
Chapter Two  
22222

She was in pure, unadulterated agony. Her head was  
pounding something fierce. It was fuzzy and felt  
stuffed with cotton. Thick bandages were wrapped  
tightly around it.

Similar bandages were on her chest. Completely  
covering her from her shoulders to her belly  
button. Thick, with heavy padding added to  
them.

Willow swore her chest was one large bruise.  
With bone deep pain radiating outward. It felt  
like someone had sliced her up, and put the  
pieces back willy nilly.

' A penny for pain killers. ' She moaned. ' Or  
at least a bottle of whiskey. '

Reluctant to face the world of hospitals and  
bad guys who cheated, she cracked her eyes  
open.

' Bad idea. '

She was in a private room. On one side of her  
bed was Tara with a death grip on her hand and  
Dawn, on the other was Buffy and Xander. Giles  
was at the end of the bed.

" You're awake. " Tara smiled shakenly.

" I'll get the nurse. " Xander squeezed Willow's  
leg, then left the room quickly.

" You scared the crap out of us. " Buffy took her  
other hand. The Slayer's hazel eyes watery. " Don't  
ever do that again, understand? "

" Yes, ma'am. " She mumbled weakly. " No dying. "

-  
To Be Continued 


End file.
